The 2018 SCARTS Turbocharged Cup Series begins with the SCARTS Shootout - a qualifying race that sets the grid for the first points race of the season, the Daytona 500. There is a qualifying session prior to the event that will set the polesitter for the Daytona 500 as well as the starting lineup for the Shootout. The lineup is determined by finishing position in the race. The qualifying session also sets the pitstalls that will be used in both the Shootout and the 500.

We will once again have two rounds of qualifying for this race. The top half in Round 1 (rounded down, top 4 of 9 players for example) will do single car runs to determine the polesitter for the Daytona 500. The bottom half in speed will lineup how they qualified in Round 1. Pitstalls will be chosen prior to the Shootout and will be the same pitstalls used in both the Shootout and Daytona 500. Additional players in the Daytona 500 will choose the remaining stalls in order of practice speed and may choose a vacated stall of a driver ran the Shootout but is absent from the 500.

The Shootout will be 60 laps and will once again award bonus points for the Daytona 500 for a Top 5 finish. 10 for 1st, 6 for 2nd, 4 for 3rd, 2 for 4th and 1 for 5th.

It's time to kick off the first points race of the new 2018 SCARTS season @ Daytona! We had an intriguing SCARTS Shootout this past week to set the starting lineup for Wednesday's Daytona 500. Laf scored his first Shootout win and two rookies finished 2nd and 3rd - Magnam & Mailo. Dore was the polesitter so despite his finish, he will once again start from the top spot.

I expect an even larger field of cars for this Wednesday. As usual for the Daytona 500, drivers that didn't compete in the Shootout will be lined up behind the finishers of that race and will be placed in the starting grid by order of practice speed. Pitstalls will carry over from the SCARTS Shootout, so new players can choose anything left over. There is no qualifying session for this race, just the practice.

Arsen scores a big victory in the Daytona 500 for his first SCARTS Turbocharged Cup Series win! Rookie, Josefe edged Burnout for 2nd place.

Coming up, is our first Intermediate track race at California (Auto Club) Speedway. Last year, there was a photo finish between Burnout and Dore! This was our second "0.000 MOV" in the history of SCARTS, but this one was even closer than the previous finish at Bristol between JonnO and Szymek in 2013. Video replay confirmed that Burnout did in fact defeat Dore by a mere pixel and was thus declared the winner.

Burnout wins at California Speedway making two different winners so far this season in SCARTS.

Coming up on Thursday, April 12th, is our first short track event at Martinsville Speedway. Dore won the first Martinsville event last year in dominating fashion however Szymek won the most recent race held during the playoffs.

Next, the SCARTS Turbocharged Cup Series moves on to Mid-Ohio where Burnout is the winner of the past two races in 2016 and 2017. This will be our first road course race of the season. Who will take the checkers this year? Find out Wednesday, April 25th!

SCARTS has had a couple weeks off, but it's time to go racing once again. Dore has won the past two races at Martinsville and Mid-Ohio as he looks for three in a row at Texas Motor Speedway. Burnout though has won the past two Texas Cup races plus a truck series race in that span of time and looks to end Dore's winning streak.

Texas Motor Speedway is a fast, nearly wide open racetrack with characteristics built in to really wear the tires out over a fuel run. The deteroriating handling at Texas makes it perhaps my favorite SCARTS track - the big changes in how you have to drive the car in the corners as the grip fades away over a run.

I encourage you all to join us on Wednesday and participate in what I think is one of our best races of the season.

Dore once again dominates at Charlotte Motor Speedway for his fourth SCARTS World 600 win and fourth victory of 2018. He now holds a 30 point lead over Burnout and is looking even more comfortable to hold onto the regular season points lead after Race #16.

Next up is Richmond Raceway, our second short track race of 2018. Jurgen is the victor of the inaugural Turbocharged Series Cup race last year and Burnout won the first race run at Richmond in the trucks. This is the first of two Richmond races this year.

Delux scores his first win of the season at Richmond Raceway after a hard fought battle with Burnout. That win clinches Delux into the playoffs as well as Dore and Burnout each having run the minimum eight starts required.

Next up, we return to Daytona Int'l Speedway for some road racing. Delux is the 2017 winner on the circuit, and looks to carry his momentum from Richmond into this race to win once again.

The Daytona road race is tough to predict, so expect another crazy race this year.

Laf wins a thriller at Daytona's road course, fending off Burnout and a hard charging Dore on the final lap! This is his second SCARTS Turbocharged Cup Series win and his first since Talladega in 2016.

Coincidentally, Talladega is next for our second restrictor plate race of the season. This will be our one and only stop to Talladega in 2018. Burnout won the Spring event last year in what was a small field of cars, but Szymek won the larger attended Fall race which was the springboard for his momentum to claim the 2017 SCARTS championship.

We have five winners so far this year, so should Arsen run in four of the next seven races, he will clinch his spot in the playoffs and will eliminate the 'filler position'. As of now, the filler spot is Szymek's lifeline to make the playoffs if he does not win, but he could still earn a playoff spot by finishing the regular season in the Top 3 in points. Silva is also in the hunt for making the playoffs having started five races, but he will need to win to make the cut.

Talladega will be a SCARTS throwback race. Keppana's version of Talladega was our very first racetrack and now that we use our own version, this race will serve as our early 10 year anniversary special for SCARTS. Players will run retro paint schemes from past seasons of SCARTS, such as myself driving my Valvoline car from 2008. Our 10th anniversary isn't until July 17th, but Talladega makes a great track to host this special race.

Even if you are new to SCARTS, it's a great race to attend - anyone can win this race with the nature of the draft.

SCARTS??? Yes it's back! Wednesday, August 1st will be Race #11 of the SCARTS Turbocharged Cup Series @ Pocono Raceway. Delux won the first race run on the new version of Pocono last year in a thrilling three driver battle for the W.

Six races remain before the playoffs begin so time is running out to qualify for the playoffs. Burnout won our last race at Talladega and closes in on the points lead a little bit that Dore holds.

SCARTS hits Nashville Superspeedway this coming Wednesday, August 8th @ 21 GMT. Arsen scores his second victory of the season at Pocono and is only two starts away from punching his ticket for the playoffs.

Burnout takes over the points lead for the time being as Dore missed the past race, but with drops coming in the final three races before the playoffs, we should see him fight for the top spot by the time the checkered flag waves at Daytona.

Come join us on Wednesday for Nashville - now a 300 mile distance - 225 laps.

Burnout captured his fourth win of 2018 at Nashville - building momentum towards the playoffs.

SCARTS' next race is our annual trip to The Brickyard, Indianapolis Motor Speedway where Dore is the defending 2017 winner. Arsen is one start away from clinching his spot in the playoffs for the first time, but Szymek is still on the outside looking in and will be eliminated if he does not win a race. Silva is the only other driver that is eligible for playoff contention should he win a race in one of the next four. The only way Szymek could claim the playoff filler position is if Arsen misses the next four events and Silva does not win a race.

Indianapolis is the final race that pays full points for those who have run all 12 events so far. Drop races would be Watkins Glen, Texas, and Daytona.

Drafting and fuel strategy play a big role at Indianapolis. Come join us!

"Drafting and fuel strategy play a big role at Indianapolis." - Burnout (2018)

That statement proved to be prophetic as Dore claimed victory at Indianapolis after Burnout ran out of fuel off the final corner coming to the checkers. Dore also ran out of fuel but right before crossing the start/finish line making for a real dramatic finish. Turbo Sliders ace, Mike Nike, competed in his very first SCARTS event and finished a respectible third after leading a bunch of laps during the middle of the race.

Dore's win puts him in prime position to reclaim his points lead as Burnout has now run all 13 races and can only drop his bad runs up until the playoffs. Dore has one more race worth full points and should have a good advantage going into the final two regular season events.

Arsen started his eighth race and now joins Dore, Burnout, Delux and Laf in the playoff field. Now that we have five drivers locked in, the filler position has been eliminated. The only drivers still eligible to make the playoffs are Szymek and Silva should they score a win. It is mathematically possible that Szymek can point his way into the Top 3 with Delux and Laf away, however he's run all 13 races and all points he will earn will be from drops. So he needs to put together three very solid races to possibly make that happen.

Next up is Watkins Glen, where Dore claimed victory last season. We had a couple weeks off but the action will continue this coming Tuesday.

Turbo Sliders veterans took to the track at Watkins Glen and posted good finishes in the race. Mike Nike scored his first victory in SCARTS followed by Burnout and road course ace, Tijny. Mike's win does not put him in the SCARTS playoffs being only his second start of a minimum eight races required and we only have two regular season races remaining.

Next up is Texas Motor Speedway, for our second race there this season. Historically, Burnout has been the one to beat here, but Dore was able to win here earlier in the season. Texas will be run as a day race this time around - it's been several years since the last time we didn't run there under the lights.

* Texas Motor Speedway will be upgraded for this race to match the current track configuration and to smoothen out some areas on the existing track. The infield wall will be pushed in in Turns 1 & 2 to accommodate a new lower lane. The original Turns 1 & 2 were about 3 lanes wide, it'll now be 4. Turn 3 and 4 remains the same but the corner will be smoothened out. The tarmac will switch to dark blacktop with concrete pit boxes.

Szymek and Silva have both started 8 or more races, so winning will be key for them to allow them to enter the playoffs.

See you there!

"That boy has got alot of talent, if only he can harness it on a weekly basis."

One race remains in the 2018 SCARTS Turbocharged Cup Series regular season. Five drivers have locked themselves into the playoffs by winning at least one race this year and competing in eight or more races - Dore, Burnout, Arsen, Delux and Laf. Since we have met our minimum requirement of five drivers in the playoffs, that'll be our playoff field unless Szymek or Silva can find Victory Lane.

Daytona now serves as our final regular season race and its pack style of racing provides a last chance opportunity for Szymek or Silva to qualify for the postseason. Szymek is the defending champion from last year and must win this race to keep his hopes alive for a repeat title. We know having friends in the race can help you claim victory, so will Arsen be Szymek's wingman or will he try to take the win for himself to sweep the races at Daytona?

This race will be our second throwback race of the year - this time using throwback schemes used in the NASCAR Cup Series race from Darlington! Be sure to sign the entry list if you plan to race and I'll make you a car for the event if I haven't yet.

Come join us for what's sure to be a thrilling pack race on Wednesday!

The playoffs are upon us! Dore wins the regular season with seven wins which gives him 10 bonus points added to his new points total. All drivers points were reset to 1000 points, with the bonus points acquired during the regular season added to the total. Those finishing the regular season in the Top 3 had their first victory count towards a bonus point. Those outside the Top 3 spent that first win as their ticket to the playoffs.

New Hampshire kicks off the playoff round of eight races. Six of the races count towards points, the other two serve as drop races to eliminate a poor finish. Starting off on the right foot in the first race will set the pace for the rest of the playoffs.

* Even though these are playoff races, everyone is still welcome to compete, not just the five drivers racing for the title. The more that race, the more intense points and finishing position matter for contending for the championship. It makes the points swings more substantial and could help those at the bottom of the points standings to have greater opportunity to gain more points on the guys at the top of the board should they struggle. If the field sizes are small, the delta of potential points to be gained or lost is much less which would serve as a cushion to those at the top of the points. So I ENCOURAGE as many players as possible to race!

Burnout cashes in at New Hampshire winning the first playoff race in dominant fashion. Laf and Delux completed the Top 3. Dore led a good bit of the race as well but had troubles that relegated his finish so he'll be looking to drop this race later on.

Next up is Richmond Raceway where Delux won at earlier this year to clinch a playoff berth. He's looking for a season sweep to make up some big ground on the points lead. There are seven races remaining in the season, so there is still plenty of time for everyone to make a run at the title. As we've seen, wins mean ALOT, so there are plenty of opportunities upcoming to score victories and gain big points!

The race is currently scheduled for Monday, but if we don't get four or more playoff contenders, the race will move to the following week.

Dore wins the second race of the playoffs at Richmond Raceway defeating Burnout to close in on the points lead - now only 4 points behind. Those two led every lap of the race despite having six players compete. Their dominance has separated themselves over 3rd place Delux at this point of the playoffs but there is still a long way to go.

Next up is our annual race at the Tsukuba Circuit road course, a track where Burnout has historically dominated. He is the defending winner from last year, but as of late Dore has been one of the better drivers winning some of the previous Cup events. Should this race feature some of the road course ringers like at Watkins Glen, this event could be quite the shakeup for the playoffs.

Burnout claims his second win of the playoffs at Tsukuba Circuit, building his points lead over Dore. It's become a clear two horse race at this point, but the others are still mathematically in contention with the drop races coming up. Tsukuba once again featured some of the road ringers in Turbo Sliders (Mike Nike and Tijny) and they both had respectable finishes behind the two fighting up at the front for the title.

Charlotte Motor Speedway is up next, with some revisions made to the racetrack. The changes are mostly visual with a new inside line and white walls but there will be some changes to the handling. Dore has a stellar record at Charlotte and looks to continue his dominance even with the changes.

Burnout inherits the win at Charlotte Motor Speedway after a 5 second penalty for Dore setting him back into 4th place. That propels Burnout to a 19 point lead in the standings over Dore which greatly helps his hopes for the 2018 championship. However, four races remain and two of them are drop races so Dore still has plenty of time to rebound and take shots at the championship.

Martinsville is up next, another place where Dore has a great track record. He won the Spring race here so this race will be pivotal for him to keep in championship contention. Szymek is the defending winner of this playoff event last year.

Burnout wins at Martinsville to put himself in favorable position to win the 2018 Turbocharged Cup Series championship. He has a chance to clinch the title early by winning our next race at Road America.

Burnout has never won a race at Road America, so Dore needs to capitalize with a resounding victory to keep himself mathematically eligible for the title in the drop races. Dore winning all three of the last races would virtually eliminate any drop points for Burnout at Phoenix and Homestead.

* Dore simply winning Road America may not be enough as he must gain a minimum of 2 points on Burnout to have a shot in the drop races. He needs to lead laps and deny Burnout leading a lot of laps so that he doesn't score 29 or 30 points if finishing 2nd.

Dore finds Victory Lane at Road America to keep himself in the hunt for the 2018 SCARTS Turbocharged Cup Series title. However, he still needs to put together two very good races in the next race at Phoenix and at Homestead-Miami to possibly pull off the upset on Burnout.

The drop races begin this week for the Top 2. There are 19 points available for Burnout to gain back while Dore has a total of 30 points available to him. Dore needs to go out and virtually dominate these next two races to limit the amount of points Burnout can gain back. Leading laps and denying laps led for Burnout will be necessary to allow Dore a shot at the comeback. It's a tall order but it is mathematically possible!

Szymek is the defending winner of the Phoenix playoff race last season while Burnout won the race earlier this year.

Dore advances to the championship round at Homestead-Miami Speedway with another victory at Phoenix. Burnout had trouble mid-race slapping the wall which put him off pit sequence for the rest of the race that went green all of the way to the finish. That mistake allowed Dore to lead a lot of laps and have a comfortable gap to easily win the race to score the points he needed to make the final.

The deficit is 12 points for Dore now with a 21 point race to drop worth a potential 14 points, so he has to gain a minimum of 13 points on Burnout at Homestead. If Dore only gains 12, they would tie with four wins in the playoffs but Burnout would have an additional 2nd place finish that would serve as the tiebreaker. Burnout's 27 point Phoenix run becomes his drop race, so he can only improve by scoring 28 points or more.

Simply put, Dore must gain 34 or 35 points and limit Burnout's laps led to pull off the upset for the championship. If he can pull off the same performance as he had at Phoenix (35 points to Burnout's 27), it would be enough to win!